OMAHA, Neb. – Behind Mikaela Shaw's 25 points and nine rebounds, the Omaha women's basketball team upset Western Illinois, 54-51, on Sunday afternoon at the Sapp Fieldhouse.
The Mavericks improved to 7-16 overall and 2-9 in Summit League action. Western Illinois dropped to 15-9 overall and 7-4 in league play. The Leathernecks came in having won four in a row and were in second place in the league standings.
Shaw had a game-high 25 points on 10-for-25 shootings, including two 3-pointers. The sophomore guard grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals.
Senior Taijhe Kelly had seven points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots off the bench. Brianna Bogard added five points, while Madi Robson chipped in four points and five assists.
Western Illinois' Ashley Luke had a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Luke was 7-for-16 from the floor and 5-for-6 at the free throw line. Tori Niemann added 12 points and 5 boards.
Omaha jumped out to an early 5-4 lead on a 3-pointer from Remy Davenport and a bucket from Shaw, but Western Illinois battled back to take the lead 9-7 by the first media timeout. The Mavs responded with a 10-2 run capped off by a Shaw jumper to take a 17-11 lead with 8:35 left in the first half.
Western Illinois held Omaha without a bucket for 3:36 as it took a 21-17 lead at the 4:59 mark of the first half. Buckets by Shaw and Sami Pawlak tied the game at 21-21 with under four minutes left in the half. The Leathernecks' Mallory Boyle made a lay-up and a free throw to put Western Illinois up by three with 1:46 left in the half.
Omaha's Shaw scored a jumper in the paint and followed it up with a three pointer with 45 seconds left to give the Mavs a 26-24 lead at the break.
UNO opened the second half with on a 7-3 run to take a 33-27 lead at the 15:43 mark in the second half. The Mavs would extend the lead to 11 points at 48-37 on a Kelly lay-up with 9:14 remaining in the game.
A 12-0 Western Illinois run gave the Leathernecks a 49-48 lead with 3:13. Kelly tied the game at 49-49 with a free throw. Shaw gave the lead back to Omaha at 50-49 with a free throw with 1:18 left in the game.
Robson sank two free throws to extend the Omaha lead to three points, 52-49, with 26 seconds left in the half. Western Illinois cut the lead to one point with a pair of Michelle Farrow free throws with 12 seconds remaining.
Lanese Bough sank two free throws with 11 seconds left on the clock to push the Maverick lead to three points, 54-51. Western Illinois had a look to tie the game at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out.
Omaha shot 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the floor and 5-for-15 from distance. The UNO defense held Western Illinois to 27.1 percent (19-for-70) from the floor and 15.0 percent (3-for-20) from 3-point range. The Leathernecks held a 45-41 advantage in rebounding.
Omaha returns to action next weekend with a pair of road games against South Dakota and North Dakota State. The Mavericks visit USD on Thursday, February 13. Tipoff from the Dakota Dome in Vermillion, South Dakota is set for 7:00 p.m. UNO squares off against NDSU on Saturday, February 14 at 2:00 p.m. in Fargo, North Dakota.
